Lower demand on the market compared to previous season
Italy: providential snowfall for kiwifruit crops in Piedmont
"At the moment the market is rather weak, above all due to the heavy snowfalls and the truck drivers' strike. We can say that till end December 2011 prices and supply/demand ratio were in line with previous year. January 2012 recorded a fall in demand compared to last year," Guidetti says.
"As result the price is reduced but the demand is 20% lower compared the same period of last year. You should also consider that production is growing thanks to the favorable climate, despite PSA problems."
"Certainly the nice weather and the high temperatures (out of seasonal average) of the last months of 2011 did not help to increase sales. We hope that now the snow and the rigorous temperatures of the next days will change this trend. It is important, in fact, to sell the most produce up until the end of April 2012, because with the arrival of New Zealand kiwifruit, the price of Italian product falls dramatically" Guidetti continues.
"As for the situation on the fields, the climate is at the moment regular. The snowfall was providential to fight the drought of previous months and to bring the necessary cold for the usual agronomic cycle of the plant."